Ethiopia: Death Toll From Landslide Rises to 257
Rescue forces finding bodies amid the landslide, July 2024 Photo: Aljazeera
July 25, 2024 Hour: 4:58 pm
About 125 people had to leave their homes and were welcomed by the local community.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Thursday that the death toll from landslides that occurred this Monday in southern Ethiopia amounted to 257 and warned that it is expected to rise to 500.
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Death Toll From Landslides in Southern Ethiopia Rises to 229
In a statement, OCHA announced that more than 15,000 people were affected by the accident.
The agency added that «they are at high risk of further landslides and need to be evacuated to safe areas immediately».
In addition, the chief of the district of Gofa, Mesker Miteku, explained that initially, as a result of heavy rainfall and a first landslide, nine houses were affected, prompting the local population and police to mobilize in an effort to rescue those under the rubble, but they were caught by a second landslide.
OCHA assured that a team of several humanitarian organizations is in the affected area to work with local authorities and respond quickly to the disaster.
He also said that the Red Cross had come to the site with four trucks of supplies.
In this regard, the agency of the United Nations (UN) stressed that ‘Search and rescue operations continue to be led by local authorities and supported by the Ethiopian Red Cross and community members, mainly digging in the mud mounds with bare hands and shovels, in the absence of other options».
Through the social network X, the Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, lamented on Tuesday the consequences caused by the sudden landslide.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, offered condolences to the families of the victims.
Autor: OSG
Fuente: EFE-Aljazeera
